A yard is simply a personal decision, and different things factor into it. We have a flat 1/2 acre lot that's 100% useable and love it. Our kids are still very young, and both my wife and I work, but we love it and we specifically were looking for a place with a nice backyard. The back is fenced in so we can let the dog run around freely and we don't need to walk him much.

It doesn't get a whole lot of use during the week, but occasionally on weekdays I'll play with the kids out back (they love just running around) and on weekends we have friends over and often times inflate a pool and the kids have a blast.

My wife and I both love the yard and just sitting on the deck or just looking out on the yard is calming/enjoyable. Is it some work? Sure. You can hire a lawn service and have periodic landscaping done if you don't want to do the work yourself. Of course the cost is something to factor in, but it's well worth it to us. To each your own for sure. Coming from a townhouse, we were specifically looking for a nice yard.

Anonymous wrote:Will your kid play by themselves in the yard? We have a yard because we have a dog and kids, but we walk the dog so we don't have poop in the yard. We do have a water table, outdoor basketball goal, etc that keep the kids entertained when we're grilling, etc. I would have a hard time not having any outdoor space. That said, we have a quarter of an acre and it's too much. We finally had to hire someone to mow because it took a good chunk of every weekend to mow and edge it all (and we're on a corner, so A LOT of edging). I do know larger lots in our neighborhood sell for more, although we paid more for it and pay more in taxes.

Not sure who you are asking. I'm the SAH pp with the WOH husband. When the kids were very little I was out there in the yard with them of course. As they got older, they would go outside and play on the play system or in a wading pool - whatever we had out there at the time. We still went to playgrounds a lot as an added diversion. We also have dogs and they are let out in the yard throughout the day (we pick up after them). They also get walked.

The kids are old enough to help with the yard work now (pulling weeds, mowing the lawn, chopping wood, etc). Between the 4 of us we manage quite well.

A quarter acre yard doesn't seem like a lot to me. You can mow that pretty fast and you don't usually have to edge it more than a couple of times a month. Weeding is a pain but can be managed.

I actually don't mind yard work and I think that my husband actually enjoys mowing with our riding mower (relaxing productivity).

Will your kid play by themselves in the yard? We have a yard because we have a dog and kids, but we walk the dog so we don't have poop in the yard. We do have a water table, outdoor basketball goal, etc that keep the kids entertained when we're grilling, etc. I would have a hard time not having any outdoor space. That said, we have a quarter of an acre and it's too much. We finally had to hire someone to mow because it took a good chunk of every weekend to mow and edge it all (and we're on a corner, so A LOT of edging). I do know larger lots in our neighborhood sell for more, although we paid more for it and pay more in taxes.

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Anonymous wrote:We just moved from a condo to a townhouse with a front porch and backyard. We rarely use the yard but love the porch. As long as you have some relaxing outdoor space for yourself, you should be ok. Kids don't need a yard. Parents do.

I haven't found that to be true at all. My kids spend tons of time in the yard, especially in summer. They run around, play tag, run in the sprinkler etc.; I can't imagine not having one for them.

Some degree this is a SAH vs WOH divide. Working parents don't have that much time when a yard is crucial. Dinner time is ok but kids soon have homework and such. It is far more useful for the SAHM cleaning the house while the kids are home in the summer. But it doesn't sound like OP Stays home?

My WOH husband loves our yard. He spends more time in than I do although I spend a fair amount of time out there myself.

We have a lovely front porch now and we rarely use that. What we use is our screened in back porch and our yard.

So do you WOH or SAH? Because my point was that working parents don't have the leisure time to invest in a yard (even gardening chores ar leisure compared to laundry!). We are working parents and love to garden but there is no time that works for us b/c we aren't home that often during daylight hours and have a long list of other chores we must attend to first.

I SAH my husband WOH. He is the one who does the lion's share of the yard work. Before we had kids we both WOH and he did most of the yard work, I handled the housework and most of the errands. I understand that dual income parents have less time to devote to yard work but a lot of those folks make it work through outsourcing some of the labor (lawn service).

Thanks for confirming my point. A yard is really only useful in a SAH family, there just are just very limited daylight hours working parents can align with their kids and themselves to enjoy it. I assume your kids head out frequently during the summer?

I SAH and yes we have always used the yard, there is plenty of time after dinner and on weekends to play out there. My husband enjoys the yard as much if not more than I do.

When I was a kid my parents had TWICE as many kids as dh and I have. My parents both worked. My parents both loved having a back yard. My dad had not one, but two decent gardens. He managed the annual weeding/seeding/fertilizing. My mother tended the flower beds and made sure to use all the veggies that grew in the gardens. We kids helped with raking leaves and lawn mowing. We also played outside nearly every day.

My parents were home bodies. Dh and I are home bodies too. We are "yard people". I think it's more of a personality/personal preference thing than a work status thing to be honest. If we both worked having a yard would still be a priority for us.

PP on the kick about only SAHM families using a yard, you sound hell bent on making this point.

We're a dual income family (outsource a lot of yard work) and we host cook outs, our kid's bday parties, etc. all the time. Can't imagine having kids and a dog without a yard. I bet a lot of SAHMs may prefer a park to socialize/get the kids out of the house.

I think it's a lifestyle thing, not a SAH/WOH thing.

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Anonymous wrote:We just moved from a condo to a townhouse with a front porch and backyard. We rarely use the yard but love the porch. As long as you have some relaxing outdoor space for yourself, you should be ok. Kids don't need a yard. Parents do.

I haven't found that to be true at all. My kids spend tons of time in the yard, especially in summer. They run around, play tag, run in the sprinkler etc.; I can't imagine not having one for them.

Some degree this is a SAH vs WOH divide. Working parents don't have that much time when a yard is crucial. Dinner time is ok but kids soon have homework and such. It is far more useful for the SAHM cleaning the house while the kids are home in the summer. But it doesn't sound like OP Stays home?

My WOH husband loves our yard. He spends more time in than I do although I spend a fair amount of time out there myself.

We have a lovely front porch now and we rarely use that. What we use is our screened in back porch and our yard.

So do you WOH or SAH? Because my point was that working parents don't have the leisure time to invest in a yard (even gardening chores ar leisure compared to laundry!). We are working parents and love to garden but there is no time that works for us b/c we aren't home that often during daylight hours and have a long list of other chores we must attend to first.

I SAH my husband WOH. He is the one who does the lion's share of the yard work. Before we had kids we both WOH and he did most of the yard work, I handled the housework and most of the errands. I understand that dual income parents have less time to devote to yard work but a lot of those folks make it work through outsourcing some of the labor (lawn service).

Thanks for confirming my point. A yard is really only useful in a SAH family, there just are just very limited daylight hours working parents can align with their kids and themselves to enjoy it. I assume your kids head out frequently during the summer?

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Anonymous wrote:We just moved from a condo to a townhouse with a front porch and backyard. We rarely use the yard but love the porch. As long as you have some relaxing outdoor space for yourself, you should be ok. Kids don't need a yard. Parents do.

I haven't found that to be true at all. My kids spend tons of time in the yard, especially in summer. They run around, play tag, run in the sprinkler etc.; I can't imagine not having one for them.

Some degree this is a SAH vs WOH divide. Working parents don't have that much time when a yard is crucial. Dinner time is ok but kids soon have homework and such. It is far more useful for the SAHM cleaning the house while the kids are home in the summer. But it doesn't sound like OP Stays home?

My WOH husband loves our yard. He spends more time in than I do although I spend a fair amount of time out there myself.

We have a lovely front porch now and we rarely use that. What we use is our screened in back porch and our yard.

So do you WOH or SAH? Because my point was that working parents don't have the leisure time to invest in a yard (even gardening chores ar leisure compared to laundry!). We are working parents and love to garden but there is no time that works for us b/c we aren't home that often during daylight hours and have a long list of other chores we must attend to first.

I SAH my husband WOH. He is the one who does the lion's share of the yard work. Before we had kids we both WOH and he did most of the yard work, I handled the housework and most of the errands. I understand that dual income parents have less time to devote to yard work but a lot of those folks make it work through outsourcing some of the labor (lawn service).

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Anonymous wrote:We just moved from a condo to a townhouse with a front porch and backyard. We rarely use the yard but love the porch. As long as you have some relaxing outdoor space for yourself, you should be ok. Kids don't need a yard. Parents do.

I haven't found that to be true at all. My kids spend tons of time in the yard, especially in summer. They run around, play tag, run in the sprinkler etc.; I can't imagine not having one for them.

Some degree this is a SAH vs WOH divide. Working parents don't have that much time when a yard is crucial. Dinner time is ok but kids soon have homework and such. It is far more useful for the SAHM cleaning the house while the kids are home in the summer. But it doesn't sound like OP Stays home?

My WOH husband loves our yard. He spends more time in than I do although I spend a fair amount of time out there myself.

We have a lovely front porch now and we rarely use that. What we use is our screened in back porch and our yard.

So do you WOH or SAH? Because my point was that working parents don't have the leisure time to invest in a yard (even gardening chores ar leisure compared to laundry!). We are working parents and love to garden but there is no time that works for us b/c we aren't home that often during daylight hours and have a long list of other chores we must attend to first.

We have three active children and decided to big with over an acre lot and big backyard. Best decision we ever made. My wife can be working or cooking inside and still see them, while they play sports, screw around in the sprinkler or explore the woods.

I think it is a personal decision. If you have a park close to your house and do not mind walking over with younger kids, I am sure it would be great and very social too. But we wanted the kids to be outside and have the outdoors instantly accessible without us always around so they could have that unstructured time.

P.S. We pay a mow-n-go service $30 a week to keep the lawn in control. Is our landscaping great? No, it went into buying the house/lot. But it was well worth it for us.

Good luck whatever your decision.

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Anonymous wrote:We just moved from a condo to a townhouse with a front porch and backyard. We rarely use the yard but love the porch. As long as you have some relaxing outdoor space for yourself, you should be ok. Kids don't need a yard. Parents do.

I haven't found that to be true at all. My kids spend tons of time in the yard, especially in summer. They run around, play tag, run in the sprinkler etc.; I can't imagine not having one for them.

Some degree this is a SAH vs WOH divide. Working parents don't have that much time when a yard is crucial. Dinner time is ok but kids soon have homework and such. It is far more useful for the SAHM cleaning the house while the kids are home in the summer. But it doesn't sound like OP Stays home?

My WOH husband loves our yard. He spends more time in than I do although I spend a fair amount of time out there myself.

We have a lovely front porch now and we rarely use that. What we use is our screened in back porch and our yard.

Anonymous wrote:We just moved from a condo to a townhouse with a front porch and backyard. We rarely use the yard but love the porch. As long as you have some relaxing outdoor space for yourself, you should be ok. Kids don't need a yard. Parents do.

What an odd post. OF COURSE kids love having a yard.

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Anonymous wrote:We just moved from a condo to a townhouse with a front porch and backyard. We rarely use the yard but love the porch. As long as you have some relaxing outdoor space for yourself, you should be ok. Kids don't need a yard. Parents do.

I haven't found that to be true at all. My kids spend tons of time in the yard, especially in summer. They run around, play tag, run in the sprinkler etc.; I can't imagine not having one for them.

Some degree this is a SAH vs WOH divide. Working parents don't have that much time when a yard is crucial. Dinner time is ok but kids soon have homework and such. It is far more useful for the SAHM cleaning the house while the kids are home in the summer. But it doesn't sound like OP Stays home?

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Anonymous wrote:Think about maintenance. If you will be doing mowing and weeding yourself instead of outsourcing, look for a relatively small, flat yard! Ours is not even that big (.25 acre) but it's hilly, and a pain to maintain as we are currently doing all the housework and yardwork. We are close to either paying for a cleaning service or a lawn care service. And we don't even have kids yet!

Put some of that weed block fabric down in your flower/shrub areas and cover with mulch. That'll help to cut down on the weeding.

... and it will be a big mess a few years down the road when the mulch on top of the fabric has started to form a nice growing medium and weeds will actually grow on top of the fabric as well as through it. Landscape fabric as weed blocker is a terrible idea.

Well...they are plants growing outside and they will grow in soil. Even soil on top of landscape fabric. As noted by another pp the roots are shallower and that makes the weeds easier to pull. If landscape fabric can cut back on the weeds for a few years and make the ones that do pop up easier to pull I'm fine by that. No one said it was a permanent solution - just a way to make life a little easier.

You know your child best, OP. My kids do not have a yard and they drive me batty in the afternoons and evening. Of course, I stay at home, so my calculus may be different, but I'm really bummed we didn't find a house with a yard.

Am I the only one wondering what a back-to-back townhouse looks like? Seriously. The ones I know of in DC have like an inner courtyard strip that serves as an extended driveway for all the cars to park behind each unit's back area. Like that?